The Catafalque

United States Capitol

The catafalque was hastily constructed in 

1865 to support the casket of Abraham Lincoln 

while the president’s body lay in state in the Rotunda. The catafalque has since been used for all 

those who have lain in state in the U.S. Capitol, as 

listed below. When not in use, the catafalque is on 

view in a specially constructed display area in Exhibition Hall in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.

No law, written rule or regulation specifies who 

may lie in state; use of the Rotunda is controlled 

by concurrent action of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Any person who has 

rendered distinguished service to the nation may 

lie in state if the family so wishes and Congress 

approves. In the case of unknown soldiers, the 

president or the appropriate branch of the armed 

forces initiates the action. 

The catafalque is a simple bier of rough pine 

boards nailed together and covered with black 

cloth. Although the base and platform have occasionally been altered to accommodate the larger 

size of modern coffins and for the ease of the 

attending military personnel, it is basically the 

same today as it was in Lincoln’s time. Presently 

the catafalque measures 7 feet, 1 inch (216 cm) 

long; 2 feet, 6 inches (76 cm) wide; and 2 feet (61 

cm) high. The attached base is 8 feet, 10 inches 

(269 cm) long; 4 feet, 31⁄2 inches (131 cm) wide; 

and 2 inches (5 cm) high. The platform is 11 feet, 4 

inches (345.44 cm) long; 6 feet, 9 inches (205.74 

cm) wide; and 21⁄2 inches (6.35 cm) high. Although 

the cloth covering the catafalque has been replaced several times, the style of the drapery is 

similar to that used in 1865.

Since 1865, the Lincoln catafalque has been 

used for most of the services in the U.S. Capitol 

The catafalque in 2006, after the most recent 

replacement of its fabric covering.

Rotunda. In the case of the Unknown Soldiers of 

World War II and the Korean War, an additional 

catafalque was built and the coffin of each at some 

point rested on the Lincoln catafalque.

The Lincoln catafalque has not been used for most 

of those lying in honor: U.S. Capitol Police officers Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson in 1998 and 

Brian Sicknick in 2021, Rosa Parks in 2005, and 

Billy Graham in 2018. In 2021, U.S. Capitol Police 

Officer William Evans became the first person to 

lay in honor on the Lincoln catafalque.

A list of those who have lain in state, in honor, or 

in repose, where the catafalque is used for a public 

viewing outside of the U.S. Capitol, appears on 

the next page.

December 2023
2 Architect of the Capitol, Office of the Curator

Persons Who Have Lain in State or in Repose on the Catafalque

The location is the U.S. Capitol Rotunda unless otherwise specified.

Abraham Lincoln April 19–21, 1865

Thaddeus Stevens August 13–14, 1868

Salmon P. Chase May 11, 1873 Supreme Court Room, U.S. Capitol

Charles Sumner March 13, 1874

Henry Wilson November 25–26, 1875

James A. Garfield September 21–23, 1881

John A. Logan December 30–31, 1886

William McKinley Jr. September 17, 1901

Pierre Charles L’Enfant (re-interment) April 28, 1909

George Dewey January 20, 1917

Unknown Soldier of World War I November 9–11, 1921

Warren G. Harding August 8, 1923

William H. Taft March 11, 1930

John J. Pershing July 18–19, 1948

Robert A. Taft August 2–3, 1953

Unknown Soldiers of World War II

and the Korean War May 28–30, 1958

John F. Kennedy November 24–25, 1963

Douglas MacArthur April 8–9, 1964

Herbert C. Hoover October 23–25, 1964

Dwight D. Eisenhower March 30–31, 1969

Everett M. Dirksen September 9–10, 1969

J. Edgar Hoover May 3–4, 1972

Lyndon B. Johnson January 24–25, 1973

Earl Warren July 11–12, 1974 Supreme Court Building

Hubert H. Humphrey January 14–15, 1978

Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam Conflict May 25–28, 1984

Claude D. Pepper June 1–2, 1989

Thurgood Marshall January 27, 1993 Supreme Court Building

Warren E. Burger June 28, 1995 Supreme Court Building

Ronald H. Brown April 9–10, 1996 Department of Commerce Building

William J. Brennan Jr. July 28, 1997 Supreme Court Building

Harry A. Blackmun March 8, 1999 Supreme Court Building

Ronald W. Reagan June 9–11, 2004

William Rehnquist September 6–7, 2005 Supreme Court Building

Gerald R. Ford Jr. December 30, 2006–

 January 2, 2007

Daniel K. Inouye December 20, 2012

Antonin Scalia February 19, 2016 Supreme Court Building

John S. McCain III August 31, 2018

George H.W. Bush December 3–5, 2018

John Paul Stevens July 22, 2019 Supreme Court Building 

Elijah Cummings October 24, 2019 Entrance to House Chamber

John R. Lewis July 27, 2020; Rotunda

 July 27–28, 2020 East Central Front Portico

Ruth Bader Ginsburg September 23-24, 2020; Supreme Court Building

 September 25, 2020 National Statuary Hall

Curator Office
3 Architect of the Capitol, Office of the Curator

William F. Evans April 13, 2021 

Robert J. Dole December 9, 2021 

Harry M. Reid January 12, 2022

Sandra Day O’Connor December 18, 2023 Supreme Court Building

Curator Office